Running a business is hard, I’m not going to skirt the truth, and hiring your first business coach is probably one of the most difficult hiring decisions you can make in a business. There are a lot of reasons why. First, it feels like admitting defeat, secondly because it’s not cheap, and thirdly because you have to be open and vulnerable with your coach.
The upside is that we were never meant to run our businesses alone. I often equate, for many reasons, starting and running a business to raising a child, and doing that alone is difficult also! It can be done and often is, but it’s much easier with the help of others. Similarly, we need professionals of all sorts in our lives to help us along. Professionals in the medical fields, accounting fields, construction fields, legal fields, etc. guide us and give us specialized knowledge that we don’t have. For instance, if you have a legal issue, you’re not going to just wing it because you can figure it out, or read a couple of books and think that’s enough to stand up in court against your opponent. Same is the case for a business coach, when it’s time to get professional guidance, go seek it out. Here are a few indications that it is time to find a coach:
Your mind is racing non-stop, you can’t sleep and all you can think about is your constantly growing, never-ending, to-do list. It’s all just too much for one person to handle. Becoming overwhelmed is a frequent reason for seeking out the advice of a coach. I can both understand and have been there! There are many facets to a business and keeping them all top of mind will drive you crazy. You are juggling balls AND plates. It feels like you have to keep them all up in the air at the same time!
Your business is ALL CONSUMING. You work endlessly and seem to have no time for your family, let alone friends! Everything in your business is urgent and often even interrupts family time. I know you started this business because you have a passion or because you wanted to be able to provide more for your family but you are finding you have LESS joy in your life right now as a result.
We hire people because we need help, because we want to take some of the load off ourselves. The trick is that we actually have to give them tasks. Not only that, we have to spend our already precious time teaching them how to do those tasks. I know we want them to show up already trained to do what we want, AND intuitive enough to know what we want done, but that’s not reality. As a result, we hire and then never actually delegate.
Have you ever told yourself that after ____ long you would take a vacation, or break? How about that at _____ point you would hire someone to handle marketing, or at _____ point you would stop doing _____? I know throughout my business ownership experience I have made promises like “I’m going to stop working everyday at 6pm so I can make sure I have dinner with my family.” Only to fail on that promise again and again.
There have been times that I literally sat in my office not knowing what to do next. There have been a few reasons: 1. I have so much to do but can’t seem to prioritize them to know what comes next, 2. I have reached a point that I couldn’t visualize beyond. When this happens, you need someone that has been there before to help you see the next steps.
We often start businesses because we have a special skillset or talent, generally it has nothing to do with business. Lawyers, doctors, painters, plumbers, and so many more don’t get business degrees with their training and education, yet they often open their own companies. I think it is misunderstood that running a business is the easy part. You know, just go perform the service and write out the invoice and get paid! If you have maxed out your skills in business, it’s ok to go seek advice from professionals that are here to help!
I love the entrepreneurial spirit. I love coming up with new ideas, and recognizing how to make or do something better. However, so many ideas can run you off the rails really fast in your business. First, how do you vet these ideas? Second, how do you allocate resources to them to make them successful? New ideas are fantastic and you should write every single one of them down! However, you should not cannibalize your current business to go off and start a new idea. Implement a system for processing new ideas to make sure you capture the BEST and most APPROPRIATE options for your business.
The world is moving forward whether we want it to or not. It is evolving and so should our businesses. If your business growth is stagnant or even going backward then there are some things that need to be addressed. Sometimes this is our fault and sometimes it’s just about keeping up with market changes, customer changes, and economic or social changes. There are methods to evaluate all of this so our businesses can change with the times.
Do you feel like everything is everywhere? Like there is a lack of formal processes or systems, like you can’t ever find the thing you’re looking for? There is a difference between being overwhelmed and being disorganized. Businesses run, and I dare say thrive, on systems. It’s like the organs of the body. If you just threw them all in there under a covering of skin we wouldn’t survive. Think of that for your business. Without systems we can’t delegate effectively, we can’t create efficiency in the business and we can’t track improvements. Organization allows us to deliver consistent services or products while giving us a tool to measure our work and give us peace of mind.
If not a single one of the above applies to you, which is highly unlikely, the last may be the reason you’re reading this blog. If you have organization, your business is doing great, and you know where you want to take it next, sometimes it’s just about having someone there to be your sounding board and accountability partner. As a coach, my job is also to hold my clients accountable for the tasks and mindset it takes to bring their company to the next level. Sometimes that comes in the form of heightening their awareness of leadership, encouraging their dreams and goals, and thinking through processes that need to be upgraded to take on new services or products. Sometimes it’s holding them true to their promises to be home by six. Whatever that looks like to you is what I’m here for. I am an honest mirror that keeps you on track to success.
A coach’s job is to hold space for their clients, to help them stay on the path to success, and to provide the tools for them to achieve their desired goals. We get it! Most of us have been there, often times more than once. We are not here to judge or pass blame or shame. We are here so you don’t have to go through this alone. So go out there, find the coach that is right for you. Interview a few and find one that aligns with your goals and can teach you the things you need for your business! You can magnify your growth, faster with a great coach!
Business and Lifestyle Coach
People may have preconceived notions about what a life coach does, whether or not life coaches use impressive titles like “motivational architect” to get them in the door and ready for a consultation. The difference between a coach and consultant is:
I want to focus on empowering clients to create lasting change. It may sound like a Hallmark card, but the undeniable power in believing in yourself is priceless. If Partners for a Solution is there to change a person’s mindset for the better, if I can get them to a point where they can believe in impossible things, they’ll have witnessed a true success story.
